“I heard that you have a date Saturday.” Maddison smirked as she stepped up next to me at the counter. I’d stopped by my Uncle Colt’s shop to finish the gift I was making for my grandma for her upcoming birthday. With Colt’s help, of course, we were making her a large bookshelf to hold the boxes of books she had stored in her closet.
Never had I imagined I would walk into the interrogation I was faced with.
“Now I’m intrigued.” Alexis, her mother, rubbed her hands together and leaned in close on the opposite side of the counter letting her forearms rest on the top. “Tell us more.” She smiled brightly, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes. The women in my family were a bunch of gossip queens; they all fed off that shit like crack.
“A little help over here,” I call out to Colt and Junior, but neither of them seemed to be of any help. Colton was sanding away on some plank of wood Colt had placed before him, and his earbuds tuned everything else out around him. Lucky bastard. I’d have to remember that trick for the next time. Colt just chuckled and in the middle of his laughter mumbled “Good luck” as he continued with his own project.
“Her name is AJ,” Maddison added with a smile, regaining my full attention.
“How’d you know?”
Maddison was older than me, and she didn’t run with the same crowd. She was also living in Statesboro working as a nurse, following the footsteps of her mother. Only instead of family medicine, she worked in the surgical department and was on call most days. Did I mention the girl was a knockout? Yeah, she was my cousin, not by blood or marriage, but another member of the extended group I’d grown up with. The woman was gorgeous, with dark hair and dark eyes, a smile that each time someone saw it hit someplace deep in their gut, and yeah, it made a guy’s head feel a little fuzzy. I’m a man and I noticed shit like that. Even if she was like that annoying older sister, the woman was a pleasant addition to the family.
“It just so happens that AJ is the little sister of Raven, who I went to school with. You remember Raven, don’t you mom?” I watched quietly as the two carried on for a moment about the sweet girl that Maddison apparently was good friends with. Then she turned her attention back to me, and this time her smile was replaced with a concerned look that made me nervous. “Raven and I had a little talk about you over lunch yesterday. Seems she’s a little concerned for her sister.”
“Concerned?”
“AJ’s had a thing for you for a while now.” She looked back at me, crossing her arms over her chest. Her stare became slightly intensified, and I felt a little queasy from its impact. “Raven knows that you’ve also been hung up on a certain someone, and she doesn’t want her sister being the rebound girl that may get tossed in the end.”
“Well, that certain someone is gone, has been gone, and has moved on.”
“Yeah, but have you?” It was an honest question, one that I’d asked myself a few times over the last few days.
“I’m trying,” I say with an equal amount of honesty. “I’m not saying that AJ and I will go out and I’ll immediately forget Harley and everything we had. I’m not saying that she and I will fall in love and live happily ever after, either. It’s a date, Maddy, and I’m starting out slow.”
“Just don’t hurt her.” She leaned her hip against the counter and crossed her arms, placing one hand on the countertop at her side. “She’s a sweet girl. She has a really big heart, and I’d hate to see it get broken.”
I nodded, but on the inside I felt as if I was all tangled up in knots. I’ll admit this date started out as a way to prove to everyone and myself that I could move on. It was a step in the direction I knew I needed to move, but it had quickly become more. I wasn’t the type of guy to use a girl. I wasn’t brought up that way, and I sure as hell wasn’t gonna start being that guy.
But even knowing all that, it didn’t make me want to cancel my night with AJ. For the first time in a long time, I was looking forward to being alone with her, looking forward to the chance of getting to know her a little better.
So, I’d take it slow, start as friends, and if by chance things developed into more, I’d be damned sure Harley wouldn’t affect it before I moved forward.
Easy enough.
***
Easy? I now laugh at the thought.
I’d never been so fucking uneasy in my life. It had nothing to do with my worry of hurting AJ, but everything to do with the girl I’d picked up only twenty minutes ago. She was this new version of AJ, this confident version that made me fear my earlier agreement with myself.
I mean, how in the hell was I supposed to keep my head on straight when she went all vixen on me?
Tight shirt, short shorts, and cowboy boots, and did I mention the hair all down around her shoulders, long ringlets of curls? Oh, and that shiny glossy shit on her lips that made it hard to control my urge to lean in and press my lips to hers.
“Why are you so quiet tonight?”
I looked up from where I was focusing to find her staring back over her shoulder with a knowing smirk. Yeah, okay fine, I was staring at her ass.
So, what does a guy do when he gets caught staring? He plays dumb.
“Trying to decide if I want M&M’s or Reese’s.” I shrugged, and she turned back around to face the concessions stand. The smirk I caught a glimpse of just before she’d done so assured me she knew I was lying.
“We’ll take a bucket of popcorn, one M&M, one Reese’s, and two blue slushies.”
I stepped up behind her, fully aware of how she leaned against me, closing the small amount of distance that remained, yet I didn’t move away. I couldn’t because I quite enjoyed the feeling of her pressed against me.
“I made an executive decision,” she whispered back to me, and without a second thought I brushed my lips over the shell of her ear. “Good call,” I said just before kissing that same spot on her where I had only ever kissed Harley before. The thing about it was, in doing so, I didn’t feel guilty or regretful. The only thing I felt was the urge to do it over and over again. “Make sure you add a package of cherry licorice too.” I placed my hands on the countertop, one on each of her sides and caged her in.
I remained in the same position, my chest pressed to AJ’s back while we watched the young girl behind the counter gather our things. Just before she stepped behind the register again, I held out two twenties, and AJ took them, passing them forward.
When she tossed a smile at me over her shoulder, I had the urge to lean in and kiss her, but I fought it. I knew it would only be interrupted, and that wasn’t how I wanted to have our first kiss happen.
Reaching around her I helped gather up the junk we’d just purchased, and she picked up the two drinks before we stepped back and walked side by side toward the theater. I still wasn’t sure what we’d be watching, as she kept that part a secret; I just offered up the money for the tickets. When we paused in front of the theater doors and I looked up to find we were watching a horror movie, I knew it was more for my benefit than her own.
“I just thought since I had you to snuggle up against that a scary movie wouldn’t be so bad.” Seeing her smile as she looked over at me made me realize maybe the choosing wasn’t strictly for my benefit.
“I’ll keep you safe,” I assured her. There was a flash of doubt that flickered in her eyes, and it did something to me. A deep ache filled my stomach, that need to prove that I wouldn’t hurt her hit me. I wasn’t willing to make any promises as to where this thing between us would go, but I could guarantee that I’d never willingly hurt her.
Once we were inside the theater and firmly planted in our seats, I looked around to see how close we were to any others. I liked that we were tucked back in the corner, and the nearest person was four or five rows ahead. It gave us the chance to talk without others hearing.
“Can I be honest with you?” She looked over at me, worrying her lip, and simply nodded. “I’ve been looking forward to this.”
“Me too.” She smiled shyly.
“I should have asked you out a long time ago.” I reached out and pushed back the hair that was caught in her lip gloss.
The lights in the theater began to dim just as I leaned in and pressed my lips to hers. A small whimper escaped her just before her lips parted and I grazed my tongue over them. It was a simple kiss, quick, but in no way did it feel lacking.
As I pulled back, I opened my eyes to find AJ with hers still closed.
“There’s that kiss I said we’d share by halfway through, yet the movie hasn’t even started.”
A smile covered her lips as she opened her eyes and looked directly at me. “So arrogant.” She couldn’t fight the laughter that bubbled from her lips as she pushed against my shoulder. When she tried to lean away, I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her in close.
“Maybe we should get a few more in before we get sidetracked by the fear of the movie.”
“Or maybe I should make you wait,” she tossed back without pause.
As I moved in to steal another kiss, she leaned back and pursed her lips. It was then I realized AJ was nothing like I thought she was—she was so much more.